How to Improve Your Executive Brand Online to Land the Exec and Board Roles You Want

Jan 27, 2022
How to Improve Your Executive Brand Online to Land the Exec and Board Roles You Want

Recently we shared a post to get the wheels turning about Bolstering Your Profile in 2022. We’re rooting for our executive members to achieve every professional goal on their list, and the last thing we want is for you to get passed over for new exec and board opportunities simply because your online presence isn’t well-enough aligned with your objectives.

To support achieving this alignment, we hosted a workshop featuring Brand Anthropologist, Anouk Pappers, of Signitt, who’s been helping execs craft and control their personal brand online, across all channels, for 20 years. Anouk was joined in conversation by Bolster co-founder and lead recruiter, Jen Goldman, to provide insight into what Bolster Clients are looking for and how to optimize your profile to stand out in the marketplace.

Jen recommends that Bolster members log into their accounts today to:

  • Refine your short bio. Make it as specific and as memorable as possible.
  • Make sure your profile is up to date and thorough. If you’ve completed new projects or landed new roles since you first signed up, edit your profile to make sure they are reflected. Note that if your profile just includes your title and company name, you won’t show up in as many matches.
  • Enhance your profile with specifics. The Bolster platform is like a magnet for CEOs searching for a needle in a haystack, so include as much detail as possible in the previous experience section. These keywords will be valuable for matching you with roles desiring your particular expertise.
  • Highlight key accomplishments you’ve achieved in previous roles. Even if it wasn’t in your job description, but you made an impact and enjoyed the work, add it. If you have testimonials you are proud of, add them as well.
  • Upload your resume or board bio. These are relatively new features that are great for offering you key word support, so be sure to take advantage with a simple upload.
  • Update your current availability and the work types you’re targeting. Clients filter members based on the kind of commitment they need and if there is synergy with the role you want and what they need to fill. Now’s a good time to make these quick updates and put a reminder on your calendar to do so every few months.
  • Sign up for Bolster Bites. You may have seen the launch announcement at the end of 2021, about a new “work type” Clients can search on to connect with members. Bolster Bites are free 30 minute engagements, typically for a CEO to bounce an idea off an expert like you. Think of it as an easy way for you to share your expertise, plant business development seeds and make new CEO connections.
  • Use this guide: Lastly, if you haven’t already, leverage this Anatomy of a Great Profile as your roadmap.

Not a Bolster member yet, but want to be? Sign up for your free profile here.

Taking a brief moment to optimize your Bolster profile is definitely worth it. With the recent close of our Series B, Bolster is set up for exponential growth in opportunities for our members.

Even if you haven’t been contacted by a client or matched yet, these tweaks are the best way to get considered. The average we’re seeing for members to be matched is 3-9 months, but as the numbers below show, it is happening. Like any good match, it takes time.

Here’s a snapshot of activity that has transpired on the platform in just about a year:

  • 2,000+ members were presented to Clients for consideration
  • Made 150 placements
  • Grew our client base to 1,200+
  • Currently have close to 100 active searches in the marketplace

You are who Google says you are, so here’s what Anouk suggests:

Even if you are discovered on Bolster, count on people Googling you. Here’s where the rest of your digital housekeeping comes into play. Make sure that what they find online corroborates what they find in Bolster and reinforces why you are someone they should consider speaking with, and also the one they should extend an offer to. As an example, if one of your goals is to show up as an SME in your functional area, make sure people will find content online that positions you this way, such as highlighting a panel that you spoke at on a relevant topic.

Breakout sessions focused on two key areas to ignite this thought process:

  • Identify Your Key Differentiators – Share 2 things that make you stand out:
  • 1 related to your expertise
  • 1 related to your passion
  • Define Your Communication Topics – Ask yourself:
  • What are you really good at?
  • What are you passionate about?
  • And what is your audience interested in?

Anouk also left the audience with these other important tips:

  • Google yourself every few months
  • Record all speaking engagements and publish snippets on YouTube
  • Focus on the future and the new things you are trying to do and position yourself accordingly
  • Realize that you are not your job title – It’s much more about the person that you are, and the things that you stand for

If you’re curious to learn more about how to take control of your personal brand online, weren’t able to register but would like to watch the workshop recording, click here to request a free copy. We’re happy to share.

-Dana Ostomel, January 27, 2022